Batting down fear
When I was growing up, baseball was one of my favorite sports. I dreamed of the baseball diamond—the pop of the ball in the glove and the whoosh of the swing of the bat. I had numerous opportunities to play in Little League and expand my skills. In middle school and high school, I participated in the Challenger Division, in which kids with special needs get to play. While this was a great opportunity, I still yearned to play with a mainstream team.
That opportunity came during my sophomore year of college. One of the players on the college team invited me to come out for an information meeting and practice for the upcoming spring season. I left that meeting committed to playing with the team at a level at which I had never played before.
I had a blast hanging out with my new teammates and learning new skills. But one day, while facing a hard-throwing pitcher during a preseason practice, I was hit near the eye by a pitch. Bleeding, I was taken off to the side of the field.
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